Forum for South Africa (FOSA) has criticised parliament and president Cyril Ramaphosa approving an above inflation pay hike to the top politicians including ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentarians.
The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a 3.8% salary hike for President Cyril Ramaphosa, following the recommendation from the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers in December.
The commission had initially recommended an increase of 4.1% for politicians, but the president’s final approval rate was 0.3 percentage points lower at 3.8%.
Speaking on YOU FM Newshour, FOSA’s leader Tebogo Mashilompane said that the increase is unjustified given the current economic challenges faced by South Africans.
“The increase is not justifiable.
How do you increase (the salary of national office bearers including those of the politicians etc.) when the unemployment rate is so high.
How do you increase when the inflation rate is so high, when we are struggling to achieve 1.6% economic growth?
How do you justify that?
How did they arrive at this figure of 3.8%?” said Mashilompane.
Mashilompane challenged president Ramaphosa to forego the increase that will take his annual salary to R3.4 million when millions of South African youths are living in poverty day in, day out.
While the pay hike was supported by most parties in the national assembly who are also part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), such as the DA, IFP and the Patriotic Alliance, others such as the DA rejected it.
“Workers are not getting salary increases.
We’re told that the economy is not growing fast enough.
We are told that there is no fiscal space, questioning why the president’s salary is increased.
What has he done to deserve this?
How do we justify this to our people?” argued Mashilompane.
Opposition parties were not exempt.
“You shouldn’t even listen to the parliamentarians, remember they were voted by the people to represent them there, but what have they done?
Why are they failing to put a motion to object and to come together against this proposal?
They are complicit, there’s no difference between Ramaphosa and that bunch of MPs,” remarked the FOSA leader.
Furthermore, Mashilompane said that the salary hikes coincide with the announcement of increase of both grades of petrol by 20 cents per litre from Wednesday, while diesel will go up by between 62 cents and 65 cents.
“Guess who will bear the brunt of all these increases, the working class, while politicians will continue to enjoy their free perks.
Those MPs have houses for free, they are travelling in luxury vehicles with free petrol, so they don’t feel the pain or burden that must be carried by ordinary citizens,” explained Mashilompane.
